Raym Washington

Raym Washington.

(November 18, 1926 – November 16, 1959)

Raymond Willis “Raym” Washington, Jr., of Live Oak, FL, was a teenaged early Florida fan who was connected with Claude Degler’s Cosmic Circle — he was one of the few important fans who fell for Degler’s meshugaas. He used the publishing house Dixie Press, was a member of FAPA and published The Science Fiction Savant.

According to Harry Warner, Raym's younger sister, Mary Helen Washington, was also a fan. With Degler, they held the Live Oak Conference in early 1943.

He wrote an epitaph of himself, “The Fan,” in Rosebud 1 (March 1944, p. 8):

If Raym should die, think only this of him:
That there's some congregation, large or small,
That is forever fandom; for the whim
Of fellow fans was his delight, and all
His fanfriends should morn much, and weep aloud
Compose sad odes, and cry into their cloaks,
And loud lament above his pastel shroud
(Before they found his suicide a hoax---)
For him, these fans should carve an Epitaph
That reads: "Here lies a science fiction fan,
Who, fearful of a horrid aftermath,
But with a stout heart, dismissed the world of man
To roam the Star Flecked Cosmos, and to fly,
And sprinkle stars upon the purple sky.

In his “Mumblings” column in Southern Star (March 1945, p. 30), Bob Tucker wrote:

There is a chap in Live Oak, Florida who politely informs the world, via sticker that he is "Raym of the Star-Flecked Cosmos”. The first time we laid eyes on that one, we ran hurriedly to our public library, took down all the astronomy books and star plates and searched somewhat mad­ly and frenziedly for the star-flecked cosmos. We never did find it. Now that we have become more or less inured to this particular bit of stickum paper we are able to receive a letter, with one attached, with a minimum of shuddering.

Raym married Sally Hill Roberts in 1953. He became a newspaper reporter. He died in 1959 of cancer.

• "Raymeses" by Raym, a parody of Tennyson's "Ulysses", written as a paean to fandom, in Banshee 5.
• Raymond W. Washington Jr. at Find a Grave.
• Obituary, Tampa Bay Times, November 18, 1959.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Cosmic Digest [1943] (with Claude Degler as Don Rogers)
• Fanews Analyzer [1943] (with others)
• Scientifun
• The Science Fiction Savant (for FAPA)
• Take-Off! [1944] (for FAPA)

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Person

1926—1959

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